Does anybody use or own a copy of the Orthodox prayers of old England prayer book. I was thinking about ordering one and I just wanted to know what people think about it. Or if you are of the Western rite what prayerbook you use.

Have a Blessed fast,Seraphim(David)

« Last Edit: April 02, 2011, 08:02:06 PM by Altar Server »

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All my hope I place in you, O Mother of God, keep me under your protection!

Christ the Golden Blossom is a wonderful book. It's not really set up like a prayer book, as far as daily morning/evening prayers, etc., but instead has a Temporale section which moves throughout the liturgical year's major Feasts, and then a Sanctorale section which has brief hagiographies and prayers dedicated to the saints. It has gorgeous artwork and is compiled from great sources.

Is the prayer book you are talking about actually in the Old English language, (like Beowulf?) Or is it a prayer book in Modern English that has pre-Schism prayers that used to be used in England? Either way it would be interesting.

The book referenced, is "Orthodox Prayers of Old England," the most extensive prayerbook for Orthodox Christians in the Western Rite. Information on the book, with a picture of the book, is available here:

Many clergy and laity of a variety of canonical jurisdictions utilise "Orthodox Prayers of Old England" for their home prayers, and the prayers and services (many complete church services and sacraments are provided in it) are blessed by usage by Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

To quote from the info page for the book, these are the contents:

The prayer book consists of 456 6"x9" pages, Smythe-sewn, and hardbound in imitation dark blue leather with beautiful gold stamping on the front and spine. Contents include the following:

- Prayers for Various Occasions1. Prayers for Those in the ChurchPrayer of a PastorPrayers for Pastors & ArchpastorsPrayer for the Faithful (2)Prayer for a MonasteryPrayer for UnityPrayer for Catechumens

2. Prayers for Family & FriendsGeneral PrayerFor Those in Heresy / SchismFor Those in JudaismFor Those in PaganismPrayer for a Living FriendPrayer for God's GuidancePrayer for One Sick or AfflictedPrayers for the SickPrayer for Taking MedicinePrayer for a Pregnant Woman

3. Prayer for Benefactors

4. Prayers for Prisoners

5. For All Living & Dead

6. For the Departed

Prayers in Time of Trouble1. Against Evil Thoughts2. Against Temptations of the Flesh3. For Chastity4. Thunderstorms & Tornadoes5. Lightning6. Destroyers of the Church7. Deliverance from Pagans8. In Wartime9. For Peace & Reconciliation10. For the Holy Land11. Against Gossips12. In Afflictions

Prayers for Travel

Prayers for Good Death (of St. Melania, St. Hilary, many others)

Prayers for Fasting Days (one is for fasting on a vigil)

Prayers for Virtues and Blessings1. For the Kingdom of Heaven (describes heaven - beautiful!)2. For True Love3. For Faith, Hope, and Charity4. For Chastity5. For Wisdom6. For True Peace7. For the Virtues8. For Spiritual Life9. For Indwelling of the Holy Spirit10. For Courage in Nightly Fears

Prayers for Good Gifts1. For Rain2. For the Crops3. For God's Protection—the Breastplate Prayers

Prayers for the Animals1. For Animal Friends |2. For Sick Animals |3. Against Infestation

Prayers of Repentance1. Of St. Jerome2. Short Prayer3. Of St. Martin4. Of St. Ephraim5. For Tears, by St. Isidore of Seville

Prayer of Exorcism of Pope St. Leo III

Order of Reading the Holy Scriptures (prayers before reading)

Abbreviations for Books of Scripture

- Read the Whole Bible in a Year (schedule includes deuterocanonical books)- Weekly Psalter Readings (150 psalms per week, includes the canticles)- Clear comparison of Massoretic and Vulgate/Septuagint psalm numbering- How to Make Singing Breads (prosphora recipe, prayers)- Fasts and Feasts (explains the fullness of the Western tradition)- Little Calendar (gives a Saint or two for each day of year)- Eight Tones (gives psalm tones and neums)- Exhaustive alphabetical indices

and more.

Except for the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which was provided to help WR Orthodox who travel, and the one-line Jesus Prayer, everything is from the old tradition of the Western church. There are no modern Roman Catholic items. Many items are provided with musical notation, such as the Our Father, Te Deum, Sat. Vespers, and the 8 Tones.

Here is one review of "Orthodox Prayers of Old England" from a lady in a canonical Orthodox jurisdiction:

> I feel compelled to say that the beautiful "Salutations Before The Holy> Cross" in "Orthodox Prayers Of Old England" are infinitely superior to the> modern Stations of the Cross, both in language, form and length....... it is> worth buying OPOOE for this alone, not to mention having a complete Little> Office of Our Lady and a complete Office of the Guardian Angel as well as> the main texts of the Liturgy of the Hours and the texts of the> Sacraments.!!>> Absolutely everything in OPOE has been of great spiritual benefit to me, as> well as fulfilling my aesthetic sensibilities in terms of stately, poetic> and appropriate liturgical English. It is a wonderful resource indeed, a> veritable treasure-trove of our liturgical heritage. There are many prayers> for absolutely every eventuality in it, whether it is prayers before taking> medicine, prayers for sick animals, prayers for the dying, a Gaelic litany> of Our Lady, prayers of repentance - it is amazingly comprehensive and in> one compact volume with a clear and readable font, even when praying by> candlelight J>> Each time I use it, I ask God's blessing on our dear Fr Aidan for all his> hard work in translating and producing this book for our benefit.>> For those new to the list, you can see an online version of the Salutations at> http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/SHP%20Salutations%20of%20Cross.pdf>> It is worth visiting the home page first and downloading the appropriate> fonts so you will get the indications to make the Sign of the Cross at the> appropriate points in the service...> http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/Liturgics.html>> The index outlining the contents of OPOE is here:> http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/SHP%20Prayer%20Book%20Index.pdf>> I must add that I speak only as a very satisfied customer of Fr Aidan's and> a very happy user of the book. I do also have the new LA Book of Common> Prayer and it is indeed a very nice volume, but in my opinion, it simply> cannot be compared with OOPOE in terms of its scope or its continuation of> our liturgical patrimony.......>> Praying for God's blessings on us all, and asking forgiveness if I have> offended anyone with my words,>> Elizabeth

That was back in May 2010. Here is a related review from David James, author/compilier of "A Psalter For Prayer" (the Orthodox-revised Coverdale Psalter just published by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville):

> ... I agree with everything Elizabeth has said: Fr. Aidan's Old Sarum PrayerBook is far superior to the Anglican Prayer Book as a treasure-trove ofgenuine Orthodox English piety. However, I did buy a copy of LancelotAndrewes Press Prayer Book, mainly so as to have a copy of the CoverdalePsalter (1928 BCP version) handy, since my old Prayer Book (1662 version)was falling apart. Has anyone else noticed the unfortunate typo in Ps 2,where Ps 1:3 is accidentally interpolated between Ps. 2:2 and the proper Ps.2:3?

> David James

Here is another review:

> ... My name is Tim Herman, I'm 24 years old, and live in centralPennsylvania. I am a convert to Holy Orthodoxy, raised Roman Catholic,and of predominantly German and Italian background... I have the greatest respect for Fr. Aidan as Ijust love his amazing work on publishing of the Sarum texts, and wishto someday either own (not likely unless it is a lot less expensive aslast time) or at least be able to leaf through a copy of the Old SarumRite Missal. I already own the "Orthodox Prayers of Old England" anduse it regularly. ...

Here is another review from a priest of an unrecognised jurisdiction:

> ... I purchased an edition of the Orthodox Prayers of Old Englandprayerbook last year and love it immensely. I will be waitingeagerly for the new edition of the Sarum Missal coming out soon (?).

Here is another review from a priest who is in the Astoria GOC jurisdiction:

> ... I find the prayer book you have already published [Orthodox Prayers of Old England] to be quite edifying and helpful in keeping a rule of reading the psalms.

Good luck getting a copy of it. I sent away for it in January and sent at least 3 emails to Fr. Aiden over a 2 month period with no reply to any of them. What a shame.

In Christ,Andrew

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"I will pour out my prayer unto the Lord, and to Him will I proclaim my grief; for with evils my soul is filled, and my life unto hades hath drawn nigh, and like Jonah I will pray: From corruption raise me up, O God." -Ode VI, Irmos of the Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos

Good luck getting a copy of it. I sent away for it in January and sent at least 3 emails to Fr. Aiden over a 2 month period with no reply to any of them. What a shame.

In Christ,Andrew

Yea, I tried ordering it too and emailing Fr. Aiden as well months ago and never got a reply.

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Let us the faithful now come together to praise our father, protector and teacher the pillar of the Orthodox faith and firm defender of piety even the wondrous hierarch Philaret and let us glorify our Saviour Who has granted us his incorrupt relics as a manifest sign of his sanctity.

Fr. Aidan, what would be the best way to contact you or St. John Cassian Press for questions about ordering? I tried emailing St. John Cassian Press via the email address that they have listed and I also tried emailing you at what I believe is your yahoo emailing address back in December but I never got a reply.

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Let us the faithful now come together to praise our father, protector and teacher the pillar of the Orthodox faith and firm defender of piety even the wondrous hierarch Philaret and let us glorify our Saviour Who has granted us his incorrupt relics as a manifest sign of his sanctity.

I am sorry for any lapses in communication or order fulfillment, but if those who have received unacceptable customer service will contact me at hieromonachusaidanus at yahoo dot com, or send a letter to St. John Cassian Press, P.O. Box 10692, Austin, TX 78766, I do promise to make good on each and every prepaid order and reply to every inquiry.

I am sorry for any lapses in communication or order fulfillment, but if those who have received unacceptable customer service will contact me at hieromonachusaidanus at yahoo dot com, or send a letter to St. John Cassian Press, P.O. Box 10692, Austin, TX 78766, I do promise to make good on each and every prepaid order and reply to every inquiry.

Asking forgiveness,

Fr. Aidan+ a sinnerSt. John Cassian Press

Thank you, Father. I sent an email about a week ago. Look forward to receiving the prayerbook.

In Christ,Andrew

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"I will pour out my prayer unto the Lord, and to Him will I proclaim my grief; for with evils my soul is filled, and my life unto hades hath drawn nigh, and like Jonah I will pray: From corruption raise me up, O God." -Ode VI, Irmos of the Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos

I am sorry for any lapses in communication or order fulfillment, but if those who have received unacceptable customer service will contact me at hieromonachusaidanus at yahoo dot com, or send a letter to St. John Cassian Press, P.O. Box 10692, Austin, TX 78766, I do promise to make good on each and every prepaid order and reply to every inquiry.

I am sorry for any lapses in communication or order fulfillment, but if those who have received unacceptable customer service will contact me at hieromonachusaidanus at yahoo dot com, or send a letter to St. John Cassian Press, P.O. Box 10692, Austin, TX 78766, I do promise to make good on each and every prepaid order and reply to every inquiry.

Asking forgiveness,

Fr. Aidan+ a sinnerSt. John Cassian Press

Thank you, Father. I received mine today.

As did I. I'm at work now but I look forward to going through it after Vespers tonight. It looks amazing. Did I hear correctly that another version is in the works? I wonder how many WR churches use it? So far, it seems like it would be absolutely indispensable. I'll post more later tonight.

In Christ,Andrew

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"I will pour out my prayer unto the Lord, and to Him will I proclaim my grief; for with evils my soul is filled, and my life unto hades hath drawn nigh, and like Jonah I will pray: From corruption raise me up, O God." -Ode VI, Irmos of the Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos

Yep, got mine last week and I have to say it is a very thorough and well-put together prayer book.

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Let us the faithful now come together to praise our father, protector and teacher the pillar of the Orthodox faith and firm defender of piety even the wondrous hierarch Philaret and let us glorify our Saviour Who has granted us his incorrupt relics as a manifest sign of his sanctity.

First, thanks for the kind words about the "Orthodox Prayers of Old England" (OPOE) prayer book. Second, it's set up as a non-liturgical devotional book, although it contains many completely-worded services in it, the ones you might want to "follow" in church, like the baptism service. But it's conceived as a book for laity. So it is hard to say if a "parish" would use it. I know many Western (and Eastern) rite clergy of various jurisdictions, who use it on a daily basis. It can supplement any particular rite since it's a book of devotions at core. Third, there are vague plans in the back of my mind for a fourth edition. However, those plans are very much on the back burner. I am working very hard right now on a bilingual (Latin-English) version of key parts of OPOE. This would include, at a minimum, morning and evening prayers and grace, and at the most, those plus the little office of Our Lady, Seven Psalms, Fifteen Psalms, Litany of Saints, confession, Mass, Salutations before the Holy Cross, and something else I'm forgetting. Fourth, the tri-bar cross is found in Western iconography of the 11th to 12th centuries. I can't think of particularly English examples, although there are German examples. Fifth, I would like to see this book in Spanish translation.

The older one is called the "cathedral" or "secular" office, and was used by cathedrals, parishes, and some monasteries. Its ordering of psalms and basic components for the various hours is what is preserved in the Roman rite such as I've published in English in OPOE and elsewhere.

The newer one (which is 6th century) is called the "Benedictine" or "monastic" office, and was used in monasteries of St. Benedict's Rule. Its ordering of psalms assigned to the various Hours is different.

Both these types of divine office have been blessed for use in the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad's Western Rite Vicariate (RWRV).

Fourth, the tri-bar cross is found in Western iconography of the 11th to 12th centuries. I can't think of particularly English examples, although there are German examples.

One bar cross, yes. Two bar cross, sometimes. Three bar, no.

This is I feel an incorrect statement. There have never been three bar crosses of that type in latin rite iconography at any period in history and there never will be. With one exception, some processional crucifixes that displayed Christ visibly on them, such as this, had a sort of Suppedaneum, but not as prominent as later eastern types by any means, there is a distinct difference.:

For the cover of a book, for almost anything without the crucifixion scene, a three bar cross was unheard of. Even with the crucifixion scene the Suppedaneum was not usually emphasized in that byzantine post-13th c. manner.

In fact, the opposite reality is true - Byzantine crosses looked much more like the Latin crosses before 1054 AD. I would therefore endorse removing the "post-14th c. slavic/rus byzantine cross" from the "Orthodox Prayers of Old England" in future printings, in deference to the older mutually shared - byzantine/latin type.

Sometime in 11th or 12th century ? we begin see some three bar crosses in Constantinople region, though the third bar was never slanted, that was a slavic innovation that came sometime after the 12th c. Three bar crosses became very popular in the reliquaries of the holy precious life giving true cross of Christ made since the 11th c. Under that same influence, a few reliquaries in the west have three three bars, but they were confined to that and never ever became in the west anything but a rare curiousity associated with those relics.

Additionally, in Non-chalcedonian "oriental orthodox" Churches, they do not use the three bar cross. It is not part of their tradition because it is an innovation unique to second millenium byzantine rites. Their crosses are substantially the same as the latin and byzantine crosses of the first 1200 years.

With that said, I ask for my dear friend Fr. Aidan's blessing.

« Last Edit: August 23, 2012, 11:57:19 PM by Christopher McAvoy »

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"and for all who are Orthodox, and who hold the Catholic and Apostolic Faith, remember, O Lord, thy servants" - yet the post-conciliar RC hierarchy is tolerant of everyone and everything... except Catholic Tradition, for modernists are as salt with no taste, to be “thrown out and trampled under foot

As far as latin roman rite book covers come, this was a particularly beautiful example I found which might serve as some inspiration. Though this is distinctive to a gospel book it is nice to be aware of and one can certainly see it does not have a three bar cross.

"and for all who are Orthodox, and who hold the Catholic and Apostolic Faith, remember, O Lord, thy servants" - yet the post-conciliar RC hierarchy is tolerant of everyone and everything... except Catholic Tradition, for modernists are as salt with no taste, to be “thrown out and trampled under foot

The older one is called the "cathedral" or "secular" office, and was used by cathedrals, parishes, and some monasteries. Its ordering of psalms and basic components for the various hours is what is preserved in the Roman rite such as I've published in English in OPOE and elsewhere.

The newer one (which is 6th century) is called the "Benedictine" or "monastic" office, and was used in monasteries of St. Benedict's Rule. Its ordering of psalms assigned to the various Hours is different.

Both these types of divine office have been blessed for use in the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad's Western Rite Vicariate (RWRV).

The (secular) officium divinum of the Roman Rite is not only (of) cathedral (origin), but already a mixture of cathedral (as one can seee in the structure of laudes, prime, compline) and monastic (matutins, vespers = ps. currens) office. The Benedictine office is a descendent of the Roman office, a bit more elaborate.

There are 10th-century examples of the three-bar (or "eight-point") cross and it occurs in an Antiphonary from the 12th century which is in Austria (I think it is the Melk Antiphonary), which is a Latin, Roman-rite service book. These early examples, whether Western or Eastern, usually have an unslanted footrest.

The particular mosaic of the Anastasis also known as "Christ's Descent into Hell/Hades" or "Harrowing of Hell" that Fr. Aidan chose above is actually from a greek monastery Hosios Loukas. Though it is not latin, it is most certainly one of Greece' finest monasteries with surviving mosaics. See here for details: http://www.cornellcollege.edu/classical_studies/ariadne/readings/ch10.shtml

Perhaps Fr. Aidan was confusing it with that found in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice where there is a somewhat similar Anastasis to it.

Because San Marco's was copied directly after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople it has MANY features not found anywhere else in the latin west, thus it is an unusual exception to the standard architectural/iconographic traditions of latinity.That is not to say that Saint Mark's is purely byzantine in conception, there are a significant number of specific latin iconographic traditions within it, which would not be found further East, such as the personifications of the virtues underneath one of the domes (one of my favourites).

I do think though that the San Marco anastasis is an example of something that is "overly" imitating the latest fashionable post-twelfth century Comnenian dynasties style of portraying the anastasis. That is to say how the anastasis would have been portrayed in that time and that place. (11th c. Constantinople portrayed the Anastasis with slightly less emotionalism/drama) .San Marco's was finished shortly after Constantinope was sacked and thus was partly a political attempt by Venice to take over their empire, thus it was intended to directly compete with their architecture, on their own terms moreso.

The below examples are more typical portrayals for the Latin West, that would serve as potential Latin rite Orthodox examples for today:

Thus, irregardless of the slant on the third bar/foot rest, we see that the three bar cross is not typically a part of the iconography of the Latin west. The useage of it on the cover of the Orthodox Prayers of Old England is at least out of the ordinary.

« Last Edit: September 05, 2012, 01:06:58 AM by Christopher McAvoy »

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"and for all who are Orthodox, and who hold the Catholic and Apostolic Faith, remember, O Lord, thy servants" - yet the post-conciliar RC hierarchy is tolerant of everyone and everything... except Catholic Tradition, for modernists are as salt with no taste, to be “thrown out and trampled under foot

Anglo-Saxon devotions are known to have been a mixture of (strictly) Roman, Gallican, Celtic, and some other Latin prayers.

Anglo-Saxon prayer books are full of the above repertoire and that is what you get in Orthodox Prayers of Old England.

You can get a copy by sending $44 to St. John Cassian Press, P.O. Box 10692, Austin, TX 78766. Be sure to include name and address. This is for domestic U.S. addresses.

(About crosses with footrests, there is a clear miniature of this in a 12th century antiphonary from, I believe, Melk. It is a manuscript illumination showing Sts. Constantine and Helen holding up a cross between them. It is a strictly Roman rite liturgical book. It is unusual for the West, but certainly not unknown. In the same way, a circle connecting the four bars of the cross near their convergence, is unusual to find in Russian Orthodox arts, being something we usually associate with Celtic Christianity, but you do run across it in Russian arts occasionally.)

Anglo-Saxon devotions are known to have been a mixture of (strictly) Roman, Gallican, Celtic, and some other Latin prayers.

Anglo-Saxon prayer books are full of the above repertoire and that is what you get in Orthodox Prayers of Old England.

You can get a copy by sending $44 to St. John Cassian Press, P.O. Box 10692, Austin, TX 78766. Be sure to include name and address. This is for domestic U.S. addresses.

(About crosses with footrests, there is a clear miniature of this in a 12th century antiphonary from, I believe, Melk. It is a manuscript illumination showing Sts. Constantine and Helen holding up a cross between them. It is a strictly Roman rite liturgical book. It is unusual for the West, but certainly not unknown. In the same way, a circle connecting the four bars of the cross near their convergence, is unusual to find in Russian Orthodox arts, being something we usually associate with Celtic Christianity, but you do run across it in Russian arts occasionally.)

Thanks, Father. I think I'll save up for it.

What Mass rites does it contain (Tikhon, Gregory, et al.)?

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Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

I was looking at Torcello mosaics or something on Google image search. Oops!

About OPOE ("Orthodox Prayers of Old England"), it contains (a) the Roman Mass in the Sarum use and (b) the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (its only non-Western Rite content). The ER liturgy was included out of sheer practicality, since WR people may travel to other cities and need to attend an ER liturgy.

It contains the Sarum Rite in an edition blessed for ROCOR use. It is Sarum Rite only, with some customs from other, co-aeval Old English service books closely kin to the Sarum. (Which is what, for example, St. John of Kronstadt Press did with its Menaion--they sometimes accepted akolouthia from various Russian cities, e.g., a service for such-and-such a Saint from a Kiev book or a Novgorod source.)

Since then, an edition was prepared for ROCOR use which does not include the co-aeval, etc. Only what's literally found in historic Sarum books.

I ordered this book back on November 9th and I still haven't received it even though I've called and spoken to Fr Aidan a couple times as well as sending numerous PM's via this site as well as emails. I would like to just cancel this order and get my check back (has yet to be cashed) but I'm not optimistic given the track history and I don't want to disrespect Fr Aidain.

I ordered this book back on November 9th and I still haven't received it even though I've called and spoken to Fr Aidan a couple times as well as sending numerous PM's via this site as well as emails. I would like to just cancel this order and get my check back (has yet to be cashed) but I'm not optimistic given the track history and I don't want to disrespect Fr Aidain.

Any ideas?

Have the same problem. Only Im only a little over a month into waiting. PO MO for me. Suddenly I dont feel as bad, as I see others are being treated as badly as I I have been bugging Father Aidan on a weekly basis. Calling or emailing. Doesnt seem to be working.... The only thing as legendary as the book and its quality is the ridiculous amount of hoops and waiting you have to do even after payment has been received to get it.

I ordered this book back on November 9th and I still haven't received it even though I've called and spoken to Fr Aidan a couple times as well as sending numerous PM's via this site as well as emails. I would like to just cancel this order and get my check back (has yet to be cashed) but I'm not optimistic given the track history and I don't want to disrespect Fr Aidain.

Any ideas?

Have the same problem. Only Im only a little over a month into waiting. PO MO for me. Suddenly I dont feel as bad, as I see others are being treated as badly as I I have been bugging Father Aidan on a weekly basis. Calling or emailing. Doesnt seem to be working.... The only thing as legendary as the book and its quality is the ridiculous amount of hoops and waiting you have to do even after payment has been received to get it.

Sorry, y'all, but it took me three weeks to get enough time to make it across town to the post office to retrieve the mail with the orders. I am so overcommitted it's ridiculous. I have put in a request at my secular job for two weeks unpaid leave, just so as to be able to have time to deal with these things (unfortunately, people coming to confession, or instruction, or homeless people, or people needing food or baby formula, get first priority). It's crazy. For example, I go into my cell phone's voice mail and typically I will hear something like this: "Twenty-two unheard messages have exceeded their storage life, and have been deleted. You have eighteen new voice messages. To hear your messages, press 1." And I only have the time spent driving, to hear those messages and try to deal with two or three of them. I cringe and just hope that none of those 22 deleted, unheard messages were something important!

I am not saying all this in order to garner sympathy, but to forestall anyone coming up with an idea like, "Fr. Aidan is just ignoring my order. Fr. Aidan must not care about my order. Fr. Aidan is treating me callously." For that is simply not the case. There are days when I get to eat, but have no time to bathe or sleep enough. Other days, I sleep well, then have no time to bathe or eat till maybe the evening. Other days, I bathe and it makes me late to commitments or to work. Some people also have got the idea that I just waste time on OC.net posting about all kinds of things. But 95% of the time, I am posting from work, where I have short breaks or sometimes have breaks in the workload, and I use this as a way to relax and blow off steam from hearing about child deaths and horrible sex abuse and babies submersed in boiling water and people who are suicidal and I'm trying to keep them alive till police can arrive, etc. OC.net is just a nice alternative to all that. Or I can attend to making my own discussion group successful (I've vanished off it for some four months now), or do something more than once every three weeks with Facebook, or something, but not more than one (maybe sometimes two) of the above. But it's not like I'm spending time I could spend on filling book orders, writing OC.net posts instead. That would be an incorrect assumption.

I'm not justifying my awful customer service, but please try to walk a mile in my shoes. Full time job. Overtime. Church clear across town, always growing, lots of people needing this and that, the poor families, people losing their homes, people begging formula for their baby, no sort of help at all. Constant meetings and crazy streams of phone calls. Everybody living far away from the church, so not as easy to fill in or come over and help, although I guess there is a little help sometimes.

And, in the end, everyone will get his books. Please be patient. Remember, I am trying to take a big pay cut here, just to do this work for you all. Just today I got an inquiry from a fellow clergyman. Noticing that I had almost completely vanished off my usual discussion group, he asked me, "Are you alive?" So, trust me, it's nothing personal.

Whoever is willing to likewise cut his monthly salary in half, in order to help me in this publication work, will be rewarded by my ceasing such dramatic posts as this one...

Sorry, y'all, but it took me three weeks to get enough time to make it across town to the post office to retrieve the mail with the orders. I am so overcommitted it's ridiculous. I have put in a request at my secular job for two weeks unpaid leave, just so as to be able to have time to deal with these things (unfortunately, people coming to confession, or instruction, or homeless people, or people needing food or baby formula, get first priority). It's crazy. For example, I go into my cell phone's voice mail and typically I will hear something like this: "Twenty-two unheard messages have exceeded their storage life, and have been deleted. You have eighteen new voice messages. To hear your messages, press 1." And I only have the time spent driving, to hear those messages and try to deal with two or three of them. I cringe and just hope that none of those 22 deleted, unheard messages were something important!

I am not saying all this in order to garner sympathy, but to forestall anyone coming up with an idea like, "Fr. Aidan is just ignoring my order. Fr. Aidan must not care about my order. Fr. Aidan is treating me callously." For that is simply not the case. There are days when I get to eat, but have no time to bathe or sleep enough. Other days, I sleep well, then have no time to bathe or eat till maybe the evening. Other days, I bathe and it makes me late to commitments or to work. Some people also have got the idea that I just waste time on OC.net posting about all kinds of things. But 95% of the time, I am posting from work, where I have short breaks or sometimes have breaks in the workload, and I use this as a way to relax and blow off steam from hearing about child deaths and horrible sex abuse and babies submersed in boiling water and people who are suicidal and I'm trying to keep them alive till police can arrive, etc. OC.net is just a nice alternative to all that. Or I can attend to making my own discussion group successful (I've vanished off it for some four months now), or do something more than once every three weeks with Facebook, or something, but not more than one (maybe sometimes two) of the above. But it's not like I'm spending time I could spend on filling book orders, writing OC.net posts instead. That would be an incorrect assumption.

I'm not justifying my awful customer service, but please try to walk a mile in my shoes. Full time job. Overtime. Church clear across town, always growing, lots of people needing this and that, the poor families, people losing their homes, people begging formula for their baby, no sort of help at all. Constant meetings and crazy streams of phone calls. Everybody living far away from the church, so not as easy to fill in or come over and help, although I guess there is a little help sometimes.

And, in the end, everyone will get his books. Please be patient. Remember, I am trying to take a big pay cut here, just to do this work for you all. Just today I got an inquiry from a fellow clergyman. Noticing that I had almost completely vanished off my usual discussion group, he asked me, "Are you alive?" So, trust me, it's nothing personal.

Whoever is willing to likewise cut his monthly salary in half, in order to help me in this publication work, will be rewarded by my ceasing such dramatic posts as this one...

Any takers?

Father, I am putting your name on my prosphora prayer card! I'll pray for you. May St. Nicholas help you maintain your sanity!

Thank you so much. Well, the fact is, there are others who work a lot harder than me and take it much better in stride. But I do sometimes reach the edge of overwhelmedness. Those heavy lifters might include emergency room doctors, soldiers on the field of battle, and the CPS workers who actually go out and remove children from their parents, dodging bullets, attack dogs, and spittle. Their workloads are actually much more intense.

I was just informed that Orthodox Prayers of Old England is selling on Amazon for $90 a pop, so this might be an option for those who want a copy and speed is of the essence. I'll sell them for $40, for a pittance, but I'm so slow in sending them. Copies were sold on eBay some years ago for over $300 a copy.

Two weeks ago I went and bought the mailer envelopes for filling the latest orders, but then had not enough time to actually go to the P.O. box and fetch the mail, which had piled up tremendously. Oh, I forgot the many duties of administering my deceased mom's estate, with certain people occasionally getting all worried and calling me and emailing me and pressuring me to immediately send this or that sum of money as if their life depended on it, when I hadn't even had the time to do the proper accounting beforehand to figure what's payable. I'm overdue in getting the legally required documentation to the Court, but... what can I do? Another reason I asked for two weeks unpaid leave.

For those who don't know, St. John Cassian Press is my garage apartment next to the church in Austin (a wonderful parish www.orthodoxaustin.org). So it's like 300 sq. feet jammed high with bookshelves, loads of books, binding equipment, half of my bed is filled with items, and I sleep in the other half of the bed. A tiny refrigerator and a microwave, a few food shelves. There's not much room. So from this unpromising little lair all the stuff has to get printed, bound, prepared for mailing. A lot of the space is taken up with book stocks. It's cozy but... for those who imagine I have some kind of an office space to work out of, ... only in my dreams!

It's a wretched little operation which worked okay with constant labor, back when I worked only part time, ten years ago.

I do get a stipend from being the parish priest, but it's $200 a month for about 20-25 hours of work per week.

Typical, for ROCOR...

Our Bishop Peter was talking with a Greek Orthodox bishop friend, who asked what they paid him. Bp. Peter told him the amount. His friend was shocked and said he couldn't believe they only paid him that much per month. Bp. Peter said, no, that's not per month, that's per YEAR.

Speaking of hard work, I don't think I can hold a candle to Bp. Peter or the Metropolitan...

I do get a stipend from being the parish priest, but it's $200 a month for about 20-25 hours of work per week.

Typical, for ROCOR...

Our Bishop Peter was talking with a Greek Orthodox bishop friend, who asked what they paid him. Bp. Peter told him the amount. His friend was shocked and said he couldn't believe they only paid him that much per month. Bp. Peter said, no, that's not per month, that's per YEAR.

Speaking of hard work, I don't think I can hold a candle to Bp. Peter or the Metropolitan...

Sorry, y'all, but it took me three weeks to get enough time to make it across town to the post office to retrieve the mail with the orders. I am so overcommitted it's ridiculous. I have put in a request at my secular job for two weeks unpaid leave, just so as to be able to have time to deal with these things (unfortunately, people coming to confession, or instruction, or homeless people, or people needing food or baby formula, get first priority). It's crazy. For example, I go into my cell phone's voice mail and typically I will hear something like this: "Twenty-two unheard messages have exceeded their storage life, and have been deleted. You have eighteen new voice messages. To hear your messages, press 1." And I only have the time spent driving, to hear those messages and try to deal with two or three of them. I cringe and just hope that none of those 22 deleted, unheard messages were something important!

I am not saying all this in order to garner sympathy, but to forestall anyone coming up with an idea like, "Fr. Aidan is just ignoring my order. Fr. Aidan must not care about my order. Fr. Aidan is treating me callously." For that is simply not the case. There are days when I get to eat, but have no time to bathe or sleep enough. Other days, I sleep well, then have no time to bathe or eat till maybe the evening. Other days, I bathe and it makes me late to commitments or to work. Some people also have got the idea that I just waste time on OC.net posting about all kinds of things. But 95% of the time, I am posting from work, where I have short breaks or sometimes have breaks in the workload, and I use this as a way to relax and blow off steam from hearing about child deaths and horrible sex abuse and babies submersed in boiling water and people who are suicidal and I'm trying to keep them alive till police can arrive, etc. OC.net is just a nice alternative to all that. Or I can attend to making my own discussion group successful (I've vanished off it for some four months now), or do something more than once every three weeks with Facebook, or something, but not more than one (maybe sometimes two) of the above. But it's not like I'm spending time I could spend on filling book orders, writing OC.net posts instead. That would be an incorrect assumption.

I'm not justifying my awful customer service, but please try to walk a mile in my shoes. Full time job. Overtime. Church clear across town, always growing, lots of people needing this and that, the poor families, people losing their homes, people begging formula for their baby, no sort of help at all. Constant meetings and crazy streams of phone calls. Everybody living far away from the church, so not as easy to fill in or come over and help, although I guess there is a little help sometimes.

And, in the end, everyone will get his books. Please be patient. Remember, I am trying to take a big pay cut here, just to do this work for you all. Just today I got an inquiry from a fellow clergyman. Noticing that I had almost completely vanished off my usual discussion group, he asked me, "Are you alive?" So, trust me, it's nothing personal.

Whoever is willing to likewise cut his monthly salary in half, in order to help me in this publication work, will be rewarded by my ceasing such dramatic posts as this one...

Any takers?

Parishoners need to man up and start paying the priests. You want to pay the priest part time, you get a part time priest. I dont know what these people think. Freaking shameful. You can sacrifice a few steak dinners or going out or another new smart phone or ipad to pay the guy who ministers to you so he can live above the poverty level.